An August 2018 update of recent WASH in Emergencies reports and resources

If it would be useful to Working Group members, each month we would like to compile and distribute a listing of new publications, research, events, etc. related to WASH in Emergencies issues.

Could you please review the listing of recent publications and resources below and let us know if this is useful to you? We also welcome your suggestions for other types of information that would be useful to you.

Shedding Light on Humanitarian Sanitation
. Proceedings of the 41st WEDC International Conference, July 2018.
Lighting should be provided for WASH facilities in Humanitarian contexts according to several standards. A three-country research project looking at the impact of lighting on WASH use and GenderBased Violence (GBV) required a multi-disciplinary approach, combining OXFAM’s practical implementing expertise with WEDC’s research-orientated approach. The provision of lighting was welcomed by a wide range of stakeholders, but other factors still affect both GBV and WASH outcomes.

Community Engagement in Sanitation: A Landscape Review
. Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF); Oxfam, August 2018.
Despite its perceived importance, the evidence suggests that community engagement in all sectors of humanitarian response is often limited and rarely monitored or evaluated. Sanitation projects may involve the community only in the construction phase as a paid labor force, or as a cash-for-work initiative.

Water Supply in a War Zone: A Preliminary Analysis of Two Urban Water Tanker Supply Systems in the Republic of Yemen
. World Bank, July 2018.
This discussion paper presents assessments of basic features of urban water supply systems in Sana’a and Aden, a detailed profile of the tanker truck service structure, including supply chain mapping, value chain analysis, and an assessment of changes to the sector since the war began. It also covers institutional support structure for the water sector, well-to-consumer supply chain, water quality, well operations, tanker trucks water delivery services, and household water demand.

Water in the Time of Drought: Lessons from Five Droughts around the World
. InterAmerican Development Bank, August 2018.
This policy brief examines drought situations, explores successes and pitfalls in the response mechanisms, and extracts valuable lessons to assist decision makers in dealing with droughts, providing practical guidance in terms of urban planning and management.

Persistence of Ebola Virus after the End of Widespread Transmission in Liberia: An Outbreak Report
. Lancet Infectious Diseases, July 23, 2018.
Investigation of the source of infection for the November 2015 outbreak provides evidence of Ebola virus persistence and highlights the risk for outbreaks after interruption of active transmission. These findings underscore the need for focused prevention efforts among survivors and sustained capacity to rapidly detect and respond to new Ebola virus disease cases to prevent recurrence of a widespread outbreak.

News/Blog Posts

Working with Women in Rohingya Refugee Camps to Make Toilets Safer
. Oxfam, August 24, 2018. Freya explained that the preliminary designs use screens to make latrine entrances more private, rather than the doors opening directly into the camps as they do at the moment: “Women told us it’s important for them not to feel stared at when entering or leaving the toilets. We want to make the routes into the toilets and washing facilities less obvious and more private, so that women feel more comfortable to use these facilities.” The two young architects also helped design places where women could keep their menstruation products and encouraged the construction of more single sex toilet facilities.

New Handwashing Stand Being Trialled for Refugees
. ECJ, August 24, 2018. The new stand features a drip tray and drainage system to prevent the formation of puddles while the one-touch tap is said to be easy to operate and minimize hand contact. The unit has sturdy tripod legs to support the 30 litre water reservoir and the tap gives out 100ml of water at a time - claimed to be just the right amount to encourage proper handwashing.

Organizations/Websites (Please let us know of additional organizations to include)

Global WASH Cluster (GWC)
- The GWC was formed in 2006, building upon the successes of an existing WASH humanitarian sector working group. The GWC is an open and formal platform for humanitarian WASH actors to work together and now consists of 76 members. Some resources on the GWC website include the
22018 Mid-Year Report, January – June 2018
, News and Events and additional information.

EAWAG - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Emergencies
- The Strategic Environmental Sanitation Planning group is leading various efforts to support the humanitarian sector in terms of emergency WASH. Resources include the Compendium of Sanitation Technologies and the online course Introduction to Public Health Engineering in Humanitarian Contexts.

Emergency WASH Google Group
- This group is maintained by the Global WASH Cluster and USAID. Its purpose is to share information among group members about current research, upcoming events, etc. related to water, sanitation and hygiene issues in emergency situations.

* See a problem.
* Make sure it's the real problem (by talking to the people with the problem).
* Find people who are solving this problem somewhere in the world and collaborate - and learn from them to solve the problem
OR
* Create a new solution where none exists
* Find passionate people who care about the problem to help implement solutions

Re: An August 2018 update of recent WASH in Emergencies reports and resources

Yes some of those were helpful. I read the solar lightning one with much interest (both current upcoming work and also since I was involved in the construction of those in norther Uganda). The ones about the Rohingya crisis were also helpful, but I think they were already shared by the working group here in Cox's Bazar.

Emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is a critical component of USAID’s humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations, who are much more susceptible to diseases related to inadequate sanitation and water supplies.

USAID responds to emergency WASH needs through the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, including the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), responsible for leading and coordinating the U.S. Government’s response to disasters overseas, and the Office of Food for Peace, responsible for leading the U.S. Government's international food assistance efforts. Combined, these two offices ensure that emergency and life-saving WASH needs of vulnerable populations are met in disaster, conflict, and early recovery operations. Where appropriate, emergency WASH connects to, supports, or aligns with the work that USAID will carry out under its Water and Development Plan to increase water and sanitation access, and is an important complementary result.

This issue contains several reviews and evaluations of WASH in emergency interventions as well as recent manuals and guidelines on appropriate technologies, disease outbreaks, menstrual hygiene management, and other topics. In addition to producing Water Currents, the USAID Water Team also publishes a biweekly bulletin of the latest studies and events related to WASH in emergencies, so contact us if you would like to subscribe to the bulletin. Stay tuned for a new Emergency WASH page on the Globalwaters.org website in the near future.

Re: a listing of new publications, research, events, etc. related to WASH in Emergencies issues

Links to the full-text of each of the items below can be found on
Sanitation Updates
. Please let us know if you have specific Emergency WASH topics that we can feature in upcoming Emergency WASH updates.

Emergency WASH Update – December 14, 2018

Blog Posts

Where are the evidence gaps in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector? Evidence Matters, December 12, 2018.
Going forward, there is still a lot we don’t know and, beyond looking at new, innovative technologies, there are a few gaps (or opportunities) the sector needs to look at if we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): More studies on vulnerable populations: We found no studies that looked at (or even captured information on) people living with a disability. We found one rigorous impact evaluation focusing on people living with HIV, two on refugee camps, and one on people living through, or in the immediate aftermath, of a humanitarian crisis.

Sandra Ruckstuhl on Capturing Practical Lessons on Water, Conflict, and Cooperation. New Security Beat, December 14, 2018.
We realized “there was a need for a toolkit on water,” says Sandra Ruckstuhl in this week’s Water Stories podcast, “with a focus of conflict and conflict mitigation, but also peacebuilding.” Ruckstuhl, a consultant for the World Bank who has researched water programs in Yemen and the Middle East, helped the Wilson Center produce USAID’s Water and Conflict toolkit.

Handwashing Station Almost Ready for Action. Elrha, December 2018.
Oxfam’s Promotion and Practice Handwashing Kit is a robust, user-friendly handwashing station that is easily set-up in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, allowing for improved, timely handwashing at critical moments and reducing people’s health risks in emergency displacement camps.

Sharing Experiences and Advocating for Improved MHM Action in Emergencies. Elrha, December 2018.
IFRC’s project aims to improve actions to address the menstrual hygiene needs of women and girls in humanitarian contexts. Evidence-based lessons and resources from operational research in East Africa on innovative ‘MHM kits’, along with other IFRC experiences, will be consolidated and disseminated globally.

Human Rights Day: WASH during Emergencies. CLTS Foundation, December 2018. This article discusses some of the hardware and software innovations for WASH during emergencies.

New Academic Programs in the Field of Humanitarian Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene at GJU. German Jordanian University, December 2, 2018.
The president, Bioforce Institute Director of operations, and the ACF Regional Representative signed a cooperation agreement to launch the preparation phase for a Humanitarian WaSH academic program with funding from USAID/OFDA.

Reports

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Post-Emergency Contexts: A study on establishing sustainable service delivery models. UNHCR and Oxfam, December 2018.
As many humanitarian crises are protracted in nature, emergency WASH services need to be sustained once humanitarian agencies depart. This report aims to review and identify alternative service delivery options, and to provide some pragmatic guidance that can be incorporated into emergency response programs and tested, evaluated and built on in the future.

Book Reviews

Health in Humanitarian Emergencies: Principles and Practice for Public Health and Healthcare Practitioners. 2018. Edited by David Townes, Mike Gerber, and Mike Anderson. 485 pp. Cambridge University Press. There is no doubt that every humanitarian health professional should have this book on their desk when planning, implementing, and evaluating humanitarian interventions.

USAID Water Office Emergency WASH Resources

The USAID Globalwaters.org website has an Emergency WASH page which contains links to key Emergency WASH organizations and publications.

Selected Articles from Global Waters on Medium – USAID Global Waters tells the story of USAID’s water-related efforts around the globe.

- From Satellite to Village, Turning Data into Action
- RESILIM: Addressing the Water Shortage Puzzle in Southern Africa
- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Unites Communities in War-Torn South Sudan
- Quiet Heroes in the Fight against Ebola

Selected 2018 Issues of Water Currents – Water Currents is a biweekly compilation of recent research on a specific WASH topic.